Best movies of 2018 that Deserved a National Award!

As the results of the national awards are out, we can clearly see that Hindi mainstream cinema is dominating the arena. Having Uri and Badhaai Ho winning most of the awards, we went back in time to review movies which could have made it to the same list but didn’t. The year 2018 witnessed quite moving and distinct cinema that we completely relished.

Raazi: Directed by Meghna Gulzar, this female spy story tops my list. I truly think this one should have made it to the national awards but unfortunately, it didn’t. However, that doesn’t make it any less amazing. This fast-paced story inspired by real-life intrigues us. Also, spectacular performances by Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal make you invest in the emotion and the story too.
Watch it on Amazon Prime if you haven’t yet.

Manto: Based on the life of writer-poet Sadat Hasan Manto, this classic movie was directed by Nandita Das. The movie starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead role was nothing but truly deserving of the national award. With strong storytelling and striking picturization, this movie was a masterpiece in my list.
Watch it on Netflix if you haven’t.

Manmarziyan: Some might not agree but this one is my favorite movies by director Anurag Kashyap. The deeply layered love triangle of the free and fearless yet vulnerable Rumi (Tapsee) with the commitment-phobic Vicky (Vicky Kaushal) and the perfect husband material Robbie (Abhishek) was a refreshing take on love and relationship. Great music by Amit Trivedi makes me fall for this movie even more.
The movie is available of Zee5 for viewership.

October: Directed by Shoojit Sircar, the movie starring Varun Dhawan, Banita Sandhu was quite a different one in the lot. The movie makes you anxious and leaves you with a mix of emotions by the end. The simple yet moving storyline and one of the best performances by Varun Dhawan is the show stealer on this one.
Watch the movie on Amazon Prime.

Also, a special mention to Lust stories: Made for cinema but released on Netflix, this one was a quirky yet mature take on love, sex, and relationships in modern India. Directed by four celebrated directors of India namely Zoya Aktar, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap, these four short films are a must-watch. Especially for people who don’t believe in myths and stigma surrounding sexual intercourse and satisfaction.

So these were our favourites from 2018. Did yours make the list? Let us know in the comments below!

– Prakriti Malhotra